General Electric Co.’s chief executive officer will take on the additional job as CEO of its aviation unit, the Boston-based company announced Monday.
GE Aviation, a competitor of East Hartford, Connecticut-based jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, is a major customer of scores of Connecticut suppliers that manufacture components for the GE business headquartered in Evendale, Ohio. Airline travel is making a comeback from steep declines during the pandemic when most fleets were grounded in response to travel bans.
Manufacturers are now grappling supply chain constraints and labor shortages.
“GE Aviation is an exceptional business in growing commercial and military sectors that is shaping the future of flight,” said CEO Larry Culp.
“There is tremendous opportunity in aviation over the coming years and the board and I decided it is the right time for me to take on this expanded role and work even more closely with the team to support our customers, meet the unprecedented demand ramp and prepare for GE Aviation’s future as an independent public company,” he said.
The former Connecticut-based company that’s manufactured everything from medical imaging equipment to jet engines and appliances announced in November 2021 it’s splitting into three public companies focused on aviation, energy and health care.
Aviation was largely grounded during the worst of the pandemic, but has rebounded as COVID-19 has retreated. Executives of Raytheon Technologies Corp., the Waltham, Massachusetts-based parent company of Pratt & Whitney, have said they expect airline travel to resume to pre-pandemic levels next year.
Both GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney reported similar financial results for the first quarter of the year. GE Aviation posted revenue of 5.6 billion, up 12% from the same period in 2021. By revenue, it’s the biggest among its health care, renewable energy and power segments.
Pratt & Whitney posted less revenue — $4.5 billion for the quarter ended March 31 — but it also increased 12% from the first quarter of 2021. Collins Aerospace, Raytheon’s other commercial aviation unit that makes airline cabin interiors, landing gear, cockpit equipment and most other components, posted revenue of $4.8 billion, up 10% from same quarter last year.
GE Lead Independent Director Tom Horton praised Culp’s “extensive operating track record” that he said will be valuable “to lead GE Aviation through historic industry growth.”
John Slattery was appointed executive vice president and chief commercial officer of GE Aviation. And Russell Stokes has been named president and CEO of commercial engines and services.
